Two Bangladeshi expatriates killed in Saudi Arabia road accident

Two Bangladeshi expatriates were killed in a road accident in Saudi Arabia on Friday night in the Afif area along the Jeddah-Riyadh highway.

The deceased were identified as Nur-e-Alam, 42, and Yunus Mia, 48, both from Cumilla district.

Nur-e-Alam was the son of the late Khalilur Rahman Sowdagar from Basudai village under Bottoli Union in Nangalkot upazila, while Yunus Mia was the eldest son of Sabir Ali from Bosua village under Sripur Union in Chauddagram upazila. Their families received news of their deaths on Saturday.

According to reports, Nur-e-Alam and Yunus Mia jointly operated a business in Riyadh. On Friday, while returning to Riyadh from Jeddah with goods for their shop, their vehicle lost control and met with an accident. Both men died on the spot, while two others, including the driver, were injured.

The two friends had planned to return home during this year’s Eid-ul-Azha. According to Monir Hossain, a Bangladeshi expatriate in Saudi Arabia and nephew of Nur-e-Alam, the accident involved a head-on collision between two vehicles. He said Nur-e-Alam, Yunus Mia, and a Saudi national were killed, while the driver remains in critical condition.

Nur-e-Alam’s wife, Sumi Akter, said, “Our family of six depended entirely on my husband’s income. We are now devastated and do not know how we will survive. I seek government assistance to bring his body back home.”

Yunus Mia had planned to return home during Eid-ul-Azha to see his four-month-old son for the first time. In his 24 years abroad, this would have been his first opportunity to celebrate Eid-ul-Azha with family members. He had already completed shopping and purchased airline tickets for the trip.

His younger brother, Omar Faruk Maruf, Joint General Secretary of the local BNP union committee, said Yunus had always been the guardian and main support of the family. He leaves behind a wife, three daughters, and two sons. 

Although he had returned to Bangladesh several times during his years abroad, he had never spent Eid-ul-Azha with his family. This year, he had booked a flight for May 27 to celebrate Eid with loved ones.

Cumilla Deputy Commissioner Reza Hasan said authorities had received reports of the deaths and assured that the district administration would provide full support to bring the bodies back to Bangladesh through official procedures.